Media And Event Advisory: Thursday: Americans Will Rally In Washington, D.C. To Launch Next Phase In National Fight To Fix Gun Background Check System

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Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Sep 17, 2013, 03:49 ET

Participants Will Urge Congress to Support Sensible Gun Laws That Save Lives; 90 Percent of Americans Support Comprehensive Background Checks

Rally Returning to Washington as Part of "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" Bus Tour; www.NoMoreNames.org

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Thursday, September 19th, survivors of gun violence and the families of its victims, members of Congress, law enforcement, gun owners and faith leaders will hold a rally in Washington, D.C. as part of the "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" bus tour. Over the last 100 days, the tour has traveled the nation, bringing Americans together at events in 25 states to urge elected officials to reconsider bipartisan gun background check legislation that enjoys overwhelming public support – but that a minority of U.S. Senators blocked in April.

The mass shooting at the Navy Yard on Monday – one of the worst in the nation's history – was a devastating reminder that 33 people are murdered with guns every day in the United States. Participants at Thursday's rally will call on Congress to join the 90 percent of the public, including 74 percent of NRA members, who want to close loopholes that are letting dangerous people slip through the background check system.  They will also read the names of the more than 9,000 Americans who have been murdered with firearms since the Newtown massacre.

What:   Rally to urge Congress to support common-sense background checks legislation that will keep guns away from dangerous individuals and help save lives

Who:              

  • Stephen Barton, Aurora theater shooting survivor
  • Carlee Soto, sister of Newtown victim and Sandy Hook teacher Victoria Soto
  • Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action
  • Col. Bill Badger, gun owner and survivor of Tucson mass shooting
  • Members of Congress
  • Commissioner Joseph Bail Jr. of the Chester, Penn. Police Department
  • Rev. Elliot Blocker, Arkansan Pastors for Gun Sense
  • Rev. Kim Turner Baker, National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
  • Gun owners

Where:            Grounds of the U.S. Capitol, near the intersection of 1st and Constitution, NE

When:             Thursday, September 19th

                       10:30 a.m. Press Conference
                       11:30 a.m. Name reading of victims of gun violence

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 1,000 mayors from across the country. The coalition has more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country. The bipartisan organization, co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has united the nation's mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns. Learn more at www.MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org.

CONTACTS

Alex Katz: [email protected] or 646-324-8245
Stacey Radnor: [email protected] or 202-870-6668 

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns